Freshwater mussels are important indicator species
and offer insight into the biological condition of a watershed. They
live on the bottom of streams, rivers, or lakes and are an important
part of the food web. They are easily affected by pollution and
habitat alteration, and declining mussel populations are an
indication that something is not right in the watershed. Faculty at
UMaine are gathering data that will form the basis for a management
plan in Maine for the tidewater mucket and yellow lampmussel—two
species that are listed as threatened in the state. The genetic
analyses are already being used within Maine to help make management
decisions as dams are being removed in the Kennebec River drainage.
Information on the actual fish hosts used by these mussels in the
wild is essential to conservation planning within the state of
Maine.
Maine Agricultural &
Forest Experiment Station
5782 Winslow Hall, The University of Maine
Orono, ME 04469-5782
207-581-3202
email:
maes2@maine.edu
Freshwater mussels are important indicator species
and offer insight into the biological condition of a watershed. They
live on the bottom of streams, rivers, or lakes and are an important
part of the food web. They are easily affected by pollution and
habitat alteration, and declining mussel populations are an
indication that something is not right in the watershed. Faculty at
UMaine are gathering data that will form the basis for a management
plan in Maine for the tidewater mucket and yellow lampmussel—two
species that are listed as threatened in the state. The genetic
analyses are already being used within Maine to help make management
decisions as dams are being removed in the Kennebec River drainage.
Information on the actual fish hosts used by these mussels in the
wild is essential to conservation planning within the state of
Maine.